Empty Souls
by Lover of Deidara
Summary: It's like Good VS. Evil. Only it's not that simple. It's not that simple at all. Some people of both sides fall to their emotions. Some fall to their enemies. Others press on.   -ALL Tales.-
1. Chapter 1

** I want to specify right away that this is partially AU in terms of a few things. Locations, characters and roles are somewhat different, but somewhat the same. Namely, for characters, some who were dead (even pre-game) in any of the games may be alive for this fanfiction. There WILL be a LOT of characters. This is ALL Tales. However, because of the story I have planned out as a whole, it pretty much HAS to be partially AU, so nobody necessarily has to have full knowledge on every game.**

**This chapter is, admittedly, more informational than most chapters will be (in this chapter's case, the information serves for the plot). I cleared a lot up in the first chapter, but I've got a few more things I plan to make clear next chapter.**

**Also, there is going to be a LOT of death. There will be many pairings, as well, but some will be crossovers. I've attempted to spread out the selection of pairs so nobody feels like they enjoy the plot but are stuck completely with pairs they don't like. Crossover pairs get the most variety, seeing as two characters that get paired are spread out through a total of fourteen games (not fifteen, as here I'm counting ToS and its sequel as one).**

**Lastly, with character deaths, I will be killing off characters who don't necessarily die in their respective games. I won't be making any mention of whether they do or don't. I may also NOT be killing off characters that DO die in their respective games. **

** I also feel I should mention here... I had to go back and fix up some of the punctuation that was left out. I left a space between question marks and exclamation points because the document manager kept taking the exclamation points out if the two were together.**

**That said, I should now be able to proceed with the story.**

* * *

><p><em>Death.<em>

"Speaking of killing…" The idiot went and opened his mouth. It reminded him, their leader, of what he'd been meaning to say since earlier. He'd just put people at risk. _And he was happy to do so._

The blond leader of the large group spoke quite calmly as he carried on. "We must be prepared for a war at any time. These are people who will not sit by quietly and let us continue peacefully about our objectives; be it our individual objectives or our objectives as a whole. These people… will resist us. Undoubtedly."

A blond nearby, a rather… close friend of this man, somehow dreaded the words he knew would follow. Half dreaded, half rejoiced. His eyes closed in contemplation as the words poured out of the leader's mouth. "Kill them. Men, women and children alike. Any of such will oppose us."

Kill the children. Somehow, that part alone felt like a newly sharpened knife being shoved through his chest. His friend was but a… child, was he not? _On their side._

"Nobody cares about _age_. Kill… I just wanna… _kill_ them." The idiot just wouldn't stop. The deranged, psychotic, _idiot_.

"Calm yourself. Nothing good will come of being reckless." At least the Commandant had some sense.

"It is, however, but the first step leading to hatred. That hatred will consume, and thereafter breed war. This is exactly what must occur. Those pitiful children stand in our way, do they not? War is what we need to eradicate them." Most of the room fell silent. Just her voice alone could quiet any soul pitifully. There was, however, one man brave enough to continue the discussion. This wretched discussion the average citizen would be disturbed by.

_The earlier talk of the bloody limbs. The way to instill fear in the enemies. The torture they would live through._

"There are quite a number of people filled with the desires hatred brings as of now. We have already used this to our advantage." The other Commandant. "Further it. The children you speak of will come to _us_. Let them. Allow them their souls to be torn from their bodies in their quests for vengeance. Allow them their friends to heedlessly lash out against us. We need not waste our time searching them out."

"Correct." It was that leader again. Approving the words of a deadly man. "Let them feed on their emotions. It is they who will bring them to us. They will unquestionably bring _themselves_ to us. Wait until that time, Hasta."

"Lord Dhaos' words are supreme." Must have been a stanch follower. "The killings will arrive later on."

"You have gods standing before you. Everything shall turn out in our favor." He even looked godly. Indubitably, he was with Heaven at that time. That _other_ war.

Even an idiot could comprehend this. Hasta lacked a response. What did it matter? He would be granted the honor of helping in the bloodshed. These people; they were annoying. Recurrently. But this time, at least, his method was approved of. Those "children" or whoever… _someone_ was going to get slaughtered. It didn't have a bearing on whom.

* * *

><p>"The hell-? !"<p>

"You should watch where you're going, kid."

A pair of teenagers had unwittingly turned a corner, neither really heading for a particular destination; nor were they moderately paying attention to what was ahead of them. They'd walked into a pair of obvious adults, and while the younger one was slightly freaked out, the older of the two looked as though he were about to have a fit.

"_Me_? _Me_? ! Why am I the only one who's gotta watch where I'm goin'? !"

"Because you're the one who walked into us." The older man had slightly slurred and extended the first word, sounding quite as if he wasn't really taking this seriously. It only served to infuriate the teen. Although, rather than paying attention to his rant, he was more concerned with trying to figure out the color of the kid's hair. Somewhere between an emerald green and a shamrock green was his conclusion.

"Hey! _Hey_! You even listenin' to me? !"

"Not really. Your hair is a lot more intriguing than your voice."

"Wha-!"

"Uh… Um… I'm really sorry! He… It's just… we were in a deep conversation when you guys showed up, and I probably should've paid more attention, and-!"

"Whoa, take it easy, little guy. Do I look upset to you? Well, I guess if I do, it's not that easy to tell in comparison to this kid."

"Quit callin' me a kid! I ain't no kid!"

"Yuri, we really need to be going. We don't have all day." The teasing adult's blond companion interrupted the boy before he could let loose on another rant, looking toward his friend rather than the fuming teen.

"I know, I know. Well, kids? You gonna let us get by without attacking us for continuing on our way?" He smirked as soon as the older one was about to flip out again, but was stopped by his friend.

"I'm really, really, _really_ sorry! It's just… we just had an audience with the Empire, and everything we tried to say was disregarded completely. Um… sorry…"

Both adults gave the boy clothed in blue an inquiring look. It was the blond who reacted first. "The Empire?"

"Um… yeah…"

"Ruca, that ain't their business! Come on. Let's go. They'll start pickin' on you, too, before ya know it. Then I'm gonna get _really_ mad."

"You already are _really_ mad." The dark-haired man referred to as Yuri pointed out. The boy was about to retort to that, but kept his mouth shut this time. Apparently it was exactly what the man wanted.

"We're going to see the higher-ups right now, actually." Yuri's friend continued. "Why don't you go with us?"

"But… they wouldn't listen to us…" The shyer boy was starting to look disheartened as he recalled the responses they'd gotten from the Commandant and several other officials.

"Stay outside." Yuri shrugged. "Besides, Flynn here isn't exactly considered lower-class. Granted, he's not an official, but he's got _some_ authority."

"Flynn? I feel like I've heard that name before…" Ruca's friend stopped to mull over the name. "I've heard of a Flynn Scifo, I think."

"That would be me." The blond who had revealed himself as Flynn nodded to the previously enraged teen.

"S-So, what you're telling us is that if we go with you, they might listen to us?" Ruca perked up, causing a look of surprise to flicker on his friend's face.

"Well, that would about sum it up." Yuri answered for Flynn.

"Don't tell me you're thinkin' of goin' with these guys." The younger pair turned to each other.

"I… I think we should! I mean, they're adults, too, so I think adults would rather consider what other adults have to say than a couple of kids." When his friend was silent, he started to get nervous again. "Uh… right? Um… is that wrong?"

"No." His friend shook his head. "I just wasn't expectin' you to actually want to go back after all that. I was kinda thinkin', 'who the hell would just go off with a couple of random adults they just bumped into and don't even know?'. But I guess we got a good reason to go. If they weren't goin' to see the officials, you know, the people we were just havin' that audience with, there's no way I'd just up and go with some strangers anywhere. But I guess they're in the same boat as us right now, like how you and I first met."

"Well, you two set to go, then?" The two turned back to Yuri and nodded. "Well then. I'm Yuri Lowell."

"Oh! Uh… I'm Ruca… Milda… S-Sorry if I'm coming across as weird or awkward to you…"

"More shy than weird or awkward. But I can swear I know that last name."

"P-Probably… I'm the son of a really well-known merchant…"

Yuri gave a nod as he finally recognized the name. He then gave his attention to the other boy. "And you'd be who, now?"

"Spada Belforma." He didn't exactly seem delighted to give out his name.

"Belforma? The aristocratic family? They're fairly close to the Milda family, are they not?" Flynn was the one to recognize Spada's surname.

"Uh… yeah." He glanced at Yuri before shrugging. "But I guess this guy's the only one here without a renowned name. Can't really say he looks like he's got any class, either."

"Thanks for noticing. I'm glad to hear I stand out." Yuri seemed just as zealous about it as Spada had been as he introduced himself.

"Glad to hear I do, too." Both their voices were full of drenched sarcasm. While Yuri stood out in the sense that he was the only one to _not_ stand out, he was still giving a sarcastic attitude to being the only one without any class. Although, in a regular crowd, he _wouldn't_ stand out. Spada, on the other hand, had more obvious derision toward the fact that he _was_ well known by his family name. Not that he was ready to make that reason clear to a pair who were still technically strangers.

Ruca and Flynn regarded the two with slight consternation as to whether or not they would get along. From what either could tell, they were either going to get along perfectly fine in the near future, or they were going to outright despise each other. They were each left with the hope that it would be the rejecting Empire the two reviled and not each other.

* * *

><p>The Empire. It was, as a whole, slighting the citizens. Most people were aware there were new members in the Council, but whoever any of them were, they were doing a miserable job.<p>

If the group were without the statues of both Flynn and Spada, by no means would they have been allowed any sort of audience with any officials. If a person had an eminent status, they were allowed to speak with any higher-ups. However, commoners were not so fortunate. Not even Ruca's family's status was high enough to be granted a symposium without notice long ahead of time.

At the time the small group presented themselves, both Ruca and Spada were half shocked and half expecting to see the amount of people in the conference room. The four of them were looking in various directions, not one of them looking toward the same group of people. They eventually gave their attention to Flynn when he spoke up.

"Even High Highness Ioder is getting wrapped up in this…" Yuri searched Ioder out in the crowd, eventually finding the blond speaking to a brunette woman in mostly brown clothing, save for the bright red stockings and a couple other barely noticeable colors from their distance.

"Looks like it… Guess we should find ourselves someone to talk to."

Luckily enough for them, there was an open space beside Ioder. They'd be able to listen in on the issues their Emperor was having whilst being in their own consultation.

Yuri pointed out the open area to the others. Thankfully, it wasn't someone they knew from the Empire as they knew it. They approached a bald man with earrings, someone who seemed at least somewhat conversant about what was going on.

"What is it you need?" The man spoke up as the four approached his section of the long, room-circling counter.

"We want to know what's going on with this damn Empire." Yuri's answer was instant.

The man closed his eyes for a moment, sighing. "I see…" It seemed like the others who had come to him before this group were only vaguely aware of what was going on. Conversely, these people seemed to know the majority of it. The older pair seemed to be mostly erudite, anyway.

Opening his eyes to look at the four before him, he introduced himself. "I am Brute Lualdi. You likely know my name from hearing about the Vanguard. I am the one who leads them."

"Yes. I've heard about the Vanguard. As their leader, I am sure you're well informed about how a lot of its members are being used to serve the Empire now." Flynn was only reasonably knowledgeable about the Vanguard, but he at least knew of their leader and his accomplishments. One namely being given a position as a Council member.

"That is correct. I do not wish to see my subordinates involving themselves in such acts. Nevertheless, the Empire holds much more power than I. Because of this, I cannot stop the Empire from using them. I am merely able to make requests."

"You're part of the Council now, ain't ya? !" Spada retorted, gaining the man's attention. "Just tell them the Vanguard is yours and only yours! They ain't got no right takin' your group of people for their own selfish business!"

Brute shook his head at the boy's remark. "I may be part of the Council, but there are members of higher status than myself. It is also _because_ I am part of the Council that I now must follow by their rules. If they ask for my soldiers, I cannot simply deny them."

"They got their own soldiers, dammit!"

"They need as many soldiers as they can congregate right now. There are many cities and towns facing difficult situations. Most soldiers have been sent to these locations to help with that."

"Like hell they are. Those soldiers have been told to prepare for wars; not help a bunch of citizens. If they're supposed to be helping the populace, they're doing the worst job at it I've seen in my life. And _that's_ absolutely pathetic." Yuri was crossing his arms now in impatience.

"You've gotta be kiddin' me." Spada abruptly felt an overwhelming fury at the idea of the soldiers "being sent out to help the cities and towns". Ruca wanted to say something; anything; but he knew what Spada was feeling was right, and it was precisely how he felt. "Helping the cities and towns? So was Regnam just not on their list of places that needed help? ! Or did they just conveniently forget about it? ! Or was it that they just ignored it because it wasn't on _their_ priority list? !"

The raise in Spada's voice seemed to distract Ioder, who looked over tentatively. Flynn noticed he'd been distracted and mouthed an apology. Ioder gave him a nod and returned his attention to the woman at his section of the counter, although the sudden attention given to the group by the Emperor himself left Flynn thinking he likely knew something about the concerns Spada voiced. Not necessarily that he was involved directly, but he may have known something.

"Calm yourself." Flynn was temporarily torn from his thoughts as Brute's voice took their place. Everyone's attention was back on him as he explained. "It's likely nobody made it in time to help Regnam. Almost all the soldiers were dispatched from a place known as Seingald. As you may well know, the capital of Seingald, Darilsheild, is rather far in distance from Regnam."

"Then how the hell did they manage to get to other places like Sulz, in Karegia so quickly?"

"I do not know the specifics. You may have to take that up with whoever it was directing all the soldiers."

Yuri quirked an eyebrow at this. "Whoever? If the dispatches were in Seingald, wouldn't it have been the captain of the Seingald soldiers; Leon Magnus?"

"That is not the case. Not all the troops there were of Seingald. In fact, most weren't."

"So… whose soldiers were in Seingald?" Ruca inquired, starting to feel doubly uneasy.

"Many solders were there, from various parts of various places. Even I am unable to inform you as to whose soldiers took part in the recent events."

"And you've told us all you know?" Yuri queried doubtfully.

"I am not at liberty to enlighten you with everything I know. I apologize for this."

'_So he's hiding things. Whether forced or not.'_ Yuri realized, grimacing. _'Least he can admit that much…'_ He turned to the other three. "If that's the case, we're not getting anymore information here." From the look on Flynn's face, he knew both of them were aware things were being kept from the general public. But for Brute to make that clear as day… he couldn't possibly be entirely on the Empire's side.

Flynn nodded to Yuri. "We've taken long enough, anyway. I'm sure there are plenty of people who are waiting for someone to finish." He then gave his regards to Brute. "I thank you for your assistance, Mister Lualdi."

To the surprise of the four, Brute returned the nod. "I'm glad I could be of assistance for you. Please protect the areas that are being neglected in my place."

Everyone seemed to relax quite a bit at this. Brute wasn't a bad person. In fact, he was probably trying just as desperately as they were to do something about the worst of the problems they'd been having unremittingly. They had found a good person to speak with. Hopefully they would get the opportunity to converse with him again.

Just as they were heading out, it seemed the woman beside them had also finished her discussion with Ioder. Yuri waited until they were out of the room and in the waiting room again before he spoke to her.

"Hey; why were you talking with the Emperor?" The question almost caught the woman off guard, but she promptly noticed the asker was one of the people beside her in the conference room.

"Oh, it's you. I was trying to find out what on earth the soldiers were doing for so many to be injured. There are also a large number of injured civilians from various places. It's worrisome."

"What soldiers? The ones that were sent out from Seingald?"

"Seingald? No, not there. Most of the injured soldiers were sent out from Kimlasca's capital, Baticul."

"…Were those soldiers all respectively from Kimlasca?"

"No. Like with Seingald, it was a large mix. Though, from what I've been able to gather… it doesn't seem at all like Seingald and Kimlasca have the same objectives."

"Injured soldiers? A lot? And you say Seingald and Kimlasca don't share the same goals…" Flynn was trying to process all this information at once. "Are they at war with each other, and haven't been letting the public know to avoid fear among the citizens?"

"I can't imagine why they would be at war. They ultimately have no reason to be. But if they were at war, and Seingald's troops were sent out first… it could explain why there have been so many injuries on Baticul's side. Originally, Seingald had no reason to send soldiers out. Their captain is away right now, but only few people know of this."

"Um… Mister Lualdi told us Seingald's troops were sent out to help the cities and towns that needed it…" Ruca reminded the other three, and now informed the female, who looked slightly mystified by the statement.

"Baticul's troops were the ones who were sent out to help the cities and towns. I had thought the injuries were coming from monsters when they were protecting those places, but there simply aren't enough monsters attacking right now for there to be this many injures."

"It sounds like Brute's information was relatively off." Flynn noted. "What he mixed up were the soldiers from both Seingald and Baticul. Baticul's soldiers were sent out to protect the towns and cities. Seingald's soldiers, as Yuri said back in our meeting with Mister Lualdi, were told to prepare for war. It must be Seingald's soldiers who are attacking the cities, and Baticul's soldiers who are defending them. It wasn't Seingald's men that reached Sulz in time; it was Baticul's."

"The guys from Seingald weren't given orders from their captain, either. So who is it that's directing them right now?" Yuri was still trying to answer his own question, but was ultimately failing.

"Nobody actually knows the faces of more than half the people in command at Seingald right now. Since the captain's departure, Seingald has been acting… strangely."

"So the wrong person found out he left for however long, and got themselves involved with the soldiers."

"I would imagine so." The woman nodded. "I would assume, though, that there is more to the story than just the capital being taken over."

"His Highness seemed to know exactly what was going on, or at least most of it." Flynn recalled at what time Ioder gave his attention to the group. When Spada was asking if Regnam was _ignored_… "That means… when he looked over at us… he knew Regnam wasn't ignored. He knew it was attacked by Seingald, and that Baticul's troops hadn't made it in time to help it. But he was speaking with you at the time, so he couldn't just jump into our conversation."

"Most of what I've learned was from His Highness himself."

"So then… lots of people must know what's going on. All the higher-ups must know. But they aren't telling us because people might freak out." Ruca mentioned anxiously.

"And if they don't tell us, we're gonna die." Yuri said sternly. "Even if it's something to be fearful about, those idiots can't just _not_ let us know when there's danger, hell, probably right around the corner!"

"I thank you for this amount of information. We would never have been able to see His Highness anytime soon at this rate. May I ask your name?" Flynn held out his hand for the woman to shake.

"I'm Mystearica Grants. You're welcome to call me Tear, as most people do." She accepted the hand with a smile.

"Miss Tear… I see. I do believe I have heard of you to be not only in the Oracle Knights, but you are also part of the medical team dealing with wounded soldiers and civilians, are you not? It would certainly explain how you would know about the number of casualties."

"That's right. It's been quite tiresome lately. I was sent back here with very little soldiers to support me. They needed to send out a witness to the mass numbers of the wounded, but they could barely even sacrifice one healer."

"That many…?"

"Yes. There are far, far more injured than we can all attend to at once." She heaved a long, heavy sigh, attempting to release some of the burden off her chest. "And you all are?"

"Flynn Scifo. My friend here is Yuri Lowell, and these boys here are Ruca Milda and Spada Belforma." He indicated to each person, and received an accepting nod from Tear.

"Truthfully, I would like to help you all figure this out further, but I need to speak with my brother, who is also a member of this city's council. He's also the Commandant of the Oracle Knights, so with his status, he may know something about what's going on. I just hope he'll answer my concerns…"

"I see… Thank you for everything, Miss Tear."

"You, as well. I'm sure we'll be passing by each other in the near future."

* * *

><p>"Geez… This is ridiculous…"<p>

The red-haired magic swordsman had been exhausting himself all day, just as the others around him were, to ensure the lives of all wounded. It was finally taking its toll on some of the healers, though. This didn't go unnoticed by some of the redhead's healer companions.

"Zelos, you okay? Take a break, would you?" The silver-haired swordsman walked over to him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"You're not one to talk, Loni." Zelos sighed. "I know you've been stressing over your brother for a while now. Don't you think you should rest, too?"

Loni fell silent. Zelos was right, and he had most definitely wanted a break, but there were so many injured… What if… What if Kyle ended up coming in as one of them? His beloved adoptive brother had been drafted by Seingald's army, and hell, the kid was only fifteen. Loni knew something was wrong with Seingald, but there was no way to fix that right now. There was just too much going on…

"I…" He finally spoke up. "I want to at least stay out here. If my brother comes in wounded, I want to be the one to heal him. If I'd actually been able to _do_ something… _anything_… I could have stopped those soldiers from drafting him. It's my responsibility now, and it's partly my fault he was taken into the army."

"…If you say so, man. I still don't think it's your fault at all. They probably would have taken the kid regardless of what you did."

"Even so…"

"Don't fret over it, huh? We've got people that need to be taken care of us right in front of us. Doing a job like this is totally too tedious for me, but… these guys need all the healers they can ever get right now."

"You're right. Looks like we've another one, too."

The two watched as the next of the injured was brought in. The boy had bright red hair as Zelos did, albeit very short. He probably wasn't easy to miss in battle… His outfit was mostly made up of various shades of blue, and some parts of the outfit stuck out like a sore thumb.

"I thought it was just Seingald, but… Baticul, too? Even _Baticul_ is drafting _children_?" Loni was shocked as he kneeled down to heal the boy who was placed on a mattress on the floor. It was easily going to take both swordsman to heal this boy. They were weak with exhaustion, but they weren't just about to let a child die. Much less right in front of them.

"Are you two both alright over here?" Both of them only nodded, feeling somehow comforted by the voice of a companion. She was watching the two to make sure they really were before nodding – not that they saw the nod. They were intently focused on the boy before them, making sure to heal every wound. One simple infection could end up deadly.

"He's very badly injured. I'll go get Jude since he's free right now. That boy needs all the attention he can get."

"Kohak, it can't be that bad…" Zelos protested, looking over the boy's wounds. At least, they didn't _look_ that bad.

Kohak also protested. "We heard he was attacked by that man named Hasta. I've heard he's… psychotic. I'm going to go get Jude. We have to make sure that boy stays alive." She hurried off before either of the two could say anything else.


	2. Chapter 2

**Starting this off by saying that Patty is in her original adult body. Also, there's a reason I left mention of both Durandal and Gae Bolg in the same chapter. Just sayin'. Then there's the way I ended this chapter, which only seemed proper, considering how often it is that it's Veigue who says, "Let's go!" to get his group moving. Admittedly, that was half on purpose, and half on accident. ...If that makes sense.**

**Just to clear up things with Supham... It's a city meant for the purpose of this fanfiction. Though, it does sound oddly like something that would come from Rebirth...**

**Things get worse next chapter. **

* * *

><p>"You… need the support of the Holy Rexalian Empire?" The Sheriff of Werites Beacon, Will Raynard, was at somewhat of a loss when he heard that, of all people, the captain of Seingald's knights, Leon Magnus, was requesting aid from him.<p>

The two were each sitting on either sofa in Will's living room, facing each other in deep conversation. Will found it a bit odd that Seingald would appoint someone so young the position of captain, and that even more so, for his age, he seemed completely calm explaining why he was there. Most teenagers normally wouldn't be talking about this like it was a regular discussion.

Will watched the young captain uncertainly as he nodded. "His Majesty no longer has any control over what's going on. Ever since a fairly large group of people walked in claiming to be Council members from Supham, he's been incessantly losing more power. The throne by itself can't stop a group this large. It's affecting Seingald as a whole; making it look as though we're trying to start a war."

"So the ones trying to start a war are the ones hiding themselves, and they're using Seingald to do so." Will was starting to think he himself was feeling more uncomfortable about this situation than the captain was.

"Right. They're making _us_ look like the villains, more or less so Kimlasca turns their attention to us, rather than them. They can continue hiding, pretending as though they never got involved with our territory. Kimlasca isn't aware they've been involved with the King. So to them, it just looks like Seingald is attacking without a reason. If those guys can keep themselves hidden, Kimlasca won't ever find out."

"By giving me this information, I would have to guess you're hoping the Holy Rexalian Empire would be able to support Seingald and get word out that they are not actually the ones trying to provoke a war."

"That is merely what His Majesty anticipates. I only come bearing his request. Personally, I don't believe this is the proper way to solve things."

The Sheriff raised an eyebrow at the ebony-haired teen's statement. "What do you mean?"

"Even if the empire supporting you decides they're willing to help Seingald, who's to say Kimlasca won't assume you're trying to help Seingald in starting their war? That you'll tell everyone Seingald isn't trying to start a war and that it's a group of shady, unknown men so they let their guards down, allowing us to attack them whenever we please?"

That thought hadn't occurred to Will. This kid was thinking much more heavily into the problem than even he had been.

"So… if you're not at all pleased with the King's decision, why did you come here in his stead?"

"…I'm one of His Majesty's most trusted. Besides, it was a good excuse to get myself out of that hellhole people refer to these days as the castle. The entire capital is about to go to war. They've already started preparations and have sent the troops out. There's a battlefield being used somewhere between Seingald and Kimlasca, and both Darilshield and Baticul sent their men out to that location already. I would never get a break from ordering the soldiers around, and hell, half or more of them aren't even mine to command. It would be a waste of my breath."

"…What about the medics?"

"What about them?"

"Are they all just cramped up in one building? Have they split apart by taking sides?"

"They're all in a state of neutrality. They care for the wounded and move on to the next of the wounded. It's not their job to patch up someone depending on their preferences. I've been informed that the battling has already begun, and injured soldiers and civilians are flocking in like packs of birds. There's apparently hardly any time to rest, so it's naturally taking its toll on the healers, as well. However, the building is in fact large enough. I'm sure the medics don't mind it all that much, though, considering the pay is above standard." He gave his voice a break for a moment before asking a question of his own. "Why are you not with the medics?"

"Ah… the medics. Well…" Will sighed slightly. "I've stayed here amidst the chaos to care for my wife and nine-year-old daughter, as well as help support the Empire. The information of a war starting has leaked almost everywhere now. However, all the details are unclear and are being thrown around; bit and pieces landing here, others landing across the ocean and some beyond."

"And half of it is inaccurate, to say the least." Leon looked rather miffed at the fact that of all the places in the entire world, as large as it was, it had to be the place he resided in that was the center of all the discussion and all the problems.

"Inaccurate, you say?"

"Quite. The people hiding under the veil of "Seingald" have been deploying few soldiers of the mass numbers available to inform people and places that they've been sent out to secure the safety of all cities, towns, villages, hamlets of sorts… Anywhere people inhabit as a functioning community. They only started leaking this sham information after they'd heard somehow, likely from a spy, of Kimlasca's plans to do that very action. For them, it was an excellent cover-up for what they were really planning to achieve. With even only those few soldiers giving out this counterfeit information, it seems to have spread to the various places not yet informed of the same plans on Kimlasca's end. Kimlasca hadn't yet sent out their troops, as they were still in the midst of planning the action when Seingald took the initiative."

The conversation came to a sudden cessation. Whoever these people behind the scenes were, they were doing an excellent job at bewildering almost every living person to gain even the slightest bit of knowledge on the matter. Will was beginning to get a headache, trying to take in all this information at once. And hell only knew how many other people were even cognizant about all this.

"There are… various Empires among us." Leon broke the sudden, almost minute long silence that they formed together whilst trying to make sense of this in their own heads. "People are going to be confused by which one is which. Others are going to use the number of Empires around to their advantage. The people now who are most likely to do that are the people who are virtually _leading_ Seingald right now. I won't be surprised if Rexalia falls into the austere upheaval. Even if you decide to help His Majesty, you'll have to keep close watch over your own group of… citizens." Leon was already aware that the citizens _were_ the Rexalian Empire. It just came across to him as… slightly outlandish.

"Yes. I will do my best to keep things in order here. I'll inform the chief commanding officer of these details so he can convey them to the citizens." Will nodded, almost thankful the conversation was over. It was just too much for a person to take in at once that the entire world could wind up going to war, even within days, all because of one group of an undisclosed entity.

"Then I ask for you leave." Leon stood up upon an approving nod from the Sheriff. He returned the man's nod and headed for the outside.

Will was left to wonder how on earth a person so young could deal with taking this significant a responsibility. He was most _definitely_ not enjoying it, either.

His thoughts were replaced when he heard a soft voice coming from near the side of the room, where the door to the personal rooms was. He looked to the speaker, noticing it was his daughter, Harriet, standing close to her mother and his wife, Amelia.

"Dad…" She repeated in the same hushed tone. It wasn't much like her to be quiet. Something was upsetting her, and he had an overpowering feeling he knew what the reason was.

He stood from his place on the sofa and headed over to his family. Amelia had a very dispirited look cast on her beautiful features, and it dismayed Will to see the two people he loved most in this world looking so distraught.

"You're going to have to go out into that war, aren't you?" Amelia felt she should have known better than to ask such, but it lifted something of a burden off her chest. It was up to Will now to keep the townspeople in line and well informed, so when the time came, they could fight back against what seemed to be the world's collective enemies.

"I may or may not find myself directly involved in this war. Rest assured, I will stay with the two of you until I find out everything I can. And I do promise that by the end of all this, I _will_ return home."

"If you're not telling the truth, I'll curse your grave." Amelia's voice was quiet; soft. It brought a light smile to Will's face that she could still be herself even among recent events. Amelia was a strong woman. She wouldn't lose out to her emotions. "That is, if you even get a grave."

"I promise you won't even have to think about getting me a grave. I'll do my very best to return to you both."

"You can't promise that…" Harriet said, almost sullenly.

"I can promise it. Amelia and I promised many things to each other before you were born. Not one of them have we never kept to each other." Amelia smiled a small smile at this. It was true, and just that reminder alone assured her it would be alright. Will would be alright, and he _would_ return to them. She nodded at her beloved daughter in agreement to Will's statement.

"He'll come home, Harriet. It would take the entire world to keep him down from coming back home. To us."

"…I… I believe you, Mom… You, too, Dad." Harriet looked like she was on the threshold of tears, but she didn't let herself weep. The mood between her parents was enough to lift her spirits.

Will led the pair to the sofas, informing them he'd be making dinner and to take it easy.

Just a little ways from their house, Leon was contemplating where to go next. He was by _far_ not looking forward to the trip back to Seingald. Not only did it mean he'd be jumping right back into the hectic state it was in, but he'd have to take the ship back. It could definitely wait. He was already exhausted, and heading out to sea was the last thing on his priority list. Then again, eating before heading out to sea was an even worse idea.

Oh, screw it. He'd go to the bakery. Where else better to go when you're stressed to the point of insanity? A Chocolate Cornet sounded good right about now… Not that a single soul who knew Leon personally was ever going to hear about this.

* * *

><p>The information about the fighting having already begun wasn't off – it may have been an understatement at this point, however. The battlefield was already covered in blood, the combatants already riddled with wounds. Hasta had taken it upon himself to slaughter anyone who so much as looked at him. Aside from him being a one-man army, everything else was a full-blown, head on war.<p>

Bloody limbs kept soldiers from fighting at their best, and the cause of this seemed to be the unfair numbers of Seingald's men. The majority of Seingald's troops were holding up fairly well – at least comparatively to Kimlasca's group. Both sides were in need of nightfall, and it felt like it wasn't arriving anytime soon.

"Seifer!"

The young pirate rushed to her friend's aid, a pair of long blonde braids flowing out behind her. She delicately lifted him into her arms, although her grip on him was one of iron.

"Patty! Get him to the medics!" The blonde looked up at the voice of a familiar comrade. Klarth stood protectively in front of the pair, Efreet beside him and ready to attack.

"It's alright, Aifread, Klarth. I can still fight…" Seifer wanted to protest, but Patty's remonstration was stronger.

"I can't let you do that. Look at yourself! How are you going to fight with wounds like this?"

"I won't go down if I have you at my side. We can still fight this battle together." For some reason, the comment stung as Seifer wrapped a protective hand around Patty's. Patty finally became conscious as to why when Seifer continued. "I didn't go down last time at your side; remember? It's true ghastly things happened after we were separated, but look at me. I'm here now, aren't I? It's going to stay that way, Aifread."

Patty couldn't find the strength to answer for a moment that felt like years, only watching Seifer as Efreet warded off attacks from their nemesis. She finally gained the strength to speak again when Klarth called out to her, telling her to hurry. "…Then here's the deal: I'm getting you to the medical unit. Once they've cared for your wounds, we'll come back out here and fight, even if it's tomorrow, or the day after. Together."

The usually excitable pirate's strategist gave her a heartfelt smile, one that she instinctively returned, all the while clinging to him as though he were leaving her forever.

Their display somehow inspired Klarth. He thought momentarily of Milard, and knowing the fact that she would be waiting for him to return, it only served to strengthen his resolve. The two behind him needed to escape right now, and he was not only going to protect them, but survive. For everyone who mattered to him.

"Go now, you two."

Seifer finally allowed Patty to bring him to his feet, the two heading off promptly to the medical units.

"Geez. What was _that_ all about? Isn't this a _battlefield_?"

"Now isn't the time to worry about that, Emil." Klarth kept his eyes trained on his enemy. "Or should I say, Ratatosk Mode Emil."

"Huh. Ratatosk will do. If you want to refer me to like _that_, you may as well call the other me 'Wimp Mode Emil'." Ratatosk's glaring red eyes shot from Klarth to the man in black armor. "So who's this big guy?"

"…Mars Uldole. He's a steadfast follower of the Demon Kind, Dhaos."

_'But why a follower of **Dhaos**, of all people, would be here right now makes things that much more puzzling.'_ Klarth questioned the man's presence here to himself, sending him a glare of his own.

"Just a follower, is he? Let's save Dhaos a bit of trouble with this substandard pawn and wipe this guy out."

"I hear you there."

Within an instant, Ratatosk's sword was clashing with Mars'. He hastily began unleashing mass amounts of Artes, knowing full well that regular attacks would do nothing against such heavy armor. The string of attacks caused sparks to fly in every direction, Ratatosk being forced to pull back to shield his eyes from them and the rest of his body from Mars' sword while he was temporarily blinded.

"For such big talk, you don't amount to much, do you?" Mars had attempted to taunt Ratatosk, but those demonic red eyes didn't waver for an instant.

"Looks who's trying to talk big now." He was staring Mars down as he spoke, free from the excessive sparks of clashing iron. "You should be feeling pretty sorry for yourself right now, going up against me."

"Should I now?" Mars, too, didn't seem fazed.

"Man, I've been around since _long_ before your parents even thought of giving birth to you. Who do you think has more experience with this world?"

"Trying to wane my determination with your asinine jokes?"

"Call it whatever you like. You're the one who's going to regret it."

Ratatosk didn't give the armored man any chance to riposte before their weaponry blocked full view each other again. "You can laugh at my jokes in the furthest corner of hell."

* * *

><p>"He's waking up…"<p>

Jude watched carefully as the youngest of the wounded came to his senses. The boy looked around in a rather bemused state. He turned to the boy kneeling beside him, who actually didn't seem much older than himself.

"Uhhh… What is this place?" He tilted his head slightly, still somewhat disoriented.

Rather than receiving an answer from Jude, he heard a familiar female voice answer his inquiry. "You're with the medical units. One of your fighting companions must have seen you injured and brought you here. You were already unconscious when our units got to you."

"Ahhh~! Annie?"

"Are you alright now, Mao?" She, too, knelt beside the redheaded young teen upon reaching him. "You were terribly wounded…"

"Oh… Was I? I can't even remember…" He sat up and looked to Annie. His stare was almost blank, causing Annie to become unsure of how to react.

"Y-You don't remember? Anyone who was present when you were brought in was told you were attacked by someone completely insane…"

"I don't really remember much after being forced into a fight with some weird pink-haired guy… He was going on about a sword called Gae Bolg…That's kinda all I can remember."

"Are you really alright? If you can't remember, maybe you should take more time to rest…"

"It's alright… I'm used to not having my memory anyway because of the first time I lost it. I'll get by." The fact that he sounded so _casual_ about it worried Annie.

"Annie, can you look after him from here? I have to attend to the others." Annie looked over at Jude and nodded. He returned the nod and stood up, looking over at Mao again. "Take care of yourself."

"Ah! Sure. Don't worry; I'll be back in action in no time!" His usual exuberant grin returned to his face. Jude returned his smile and moved on to the other wounded.

Once Jude was out of sight, Mao resumed scanning over the place. He'd never seen so many people in one building before… From what he could tell, most of the people in the same as room as himself were the injured – not the healers. It must have been all they could do to keep people safe…

"Hey, Annie… Why are there no beds, anyway?"

The question briefly surprised Annie, though when it sank in, she let out a sigh. "All the rooms with bedding are already being used. Even the waiting rooms have to be used, and the seats for those rooms are also taken. They've had to get mattresses out. You're also in one of the waiting rooms."

"This… sounds pretty bad. Can't both sides just come to an agreement or something and end all this? We don't even have an actual reason for fighting! Kimlasca came around conscripting people while claiming Seingald just up and attacked them. That just sounds way too suspicious, you know? They've gotta have a reason for attacking!"

"I understand that. However, there's nothing we healers can really do about that… We're all supposed to be impartial. It's arduous and frustrating. All we can do is continue treating people and sit around _hoping_ everything will turn out okay…"

"Annie! We need a bit of help over here! Are you on break?"

Annie turned to the owner of the childlike voice. "I should be getting off my break right now, actually. Zelos and Loni got on their breaks shortly after this boy was brought here, and Kohak went to get Jude to cure him on her break. Are you treating right now, Rubia?"

"Yes. I just got back from respite myself. I'm going to keep doing my best for everyone." The pink-haired girl with the pink, flowing dress nodded.

"Alright. Take me to whomever it is that needs our support." She turned back to Mao. "Will you be alright on your own?"

"I'm all healed up now. Don't worry! I probably shouldn't head back into battle right away, though… I'll just walk around for a bit, I guess." Mao gave her a thumbs-up with a bright grin on his face to assure her it was alright.

"Alright. Take care, then."

As the two healers ran off, Mao stood up and looked around, wondering if there was somewhere he could go to help out somehow. It wasn't long until he noticed a small group heading toward a single room, and rather quickly. Curious about the commotion, he led himself over to the room.

* * *

><p>"So… what did you talk to the higher-ups about? Was it just Regnam?" Yuri questioned the two younger boys as they were heading to the exit of the city. Rather than relying on answers only from the Council, they planned to find the answers themselves, by heading out to Seingald.<p>

"…Yeah." Spada stared straight ahead, glaring as he went, as if imagining the Council members being in front of him, rather than the streets.

"W-We tried to tell them what happened with Regnam, but… they kept telling us we were just trying to damage their authority by making it seem like it was their fault… But we didn't do anything like that. We were just asking for help and trying to find out why they didn't protect our home." Ruca answered disconsolately.

"Well, you obviously weren't talking to Brute or His Highness Ioder. I doubt those guys would've ignored you. But speaking of, who _were_ you talking with?" Considering the amount of Council members there were in this city, it made Yuri curious as to which of them rejected these two who were only asking for support for their home.

"Well, aside from several council members gettin' mad at us, sayin' we were takin' too long… we got an audience with an Alexei Dinoia." Spada felt even more incensed when he pictured the man's face.

Both Yuri and Flynn looked at each other briefly before looking back to the other two. The fact that they were ignored by Alexei didn't surprise Yuri at all, but the fact that it was Alexei they _spoke_ to _did_. "No wonder you were ignored… That guy wouldn't listen to you even if you were full-grown adults who had ten times the experience in the Council as him."

"I take it you know 'im, then." Spada mumbled, though irately.

"Well, that's a good word for it."

"Wh-what if that guy decides to attack us or something…?" Ruca asked diffidently. "He seemed really mad when we tried talking to him… He might send somebody after us!"

That comment snapped Spada out of his thoughts and he gave his full attention to Ruca. "If he comes after us, I'm takin' him out."

"But… he seemed really strong… He might try to kill us or something…" Ruca looked toward the ground, his spirits despondent.

"What? You sayin' I ain't strong, too? That you ain't strong? Maybe we can't fight him in these bodies, but if he attacks us, I ain't holdin' back. 'Specially if he attacks you." The older teen seemed absolutely sure of what he was saying. It was clear that he felt no doubt at all if it came down to a fight with Alexei.

Ruca immediately looked back up at Spada. "M-Me?"

He gave his younger friend a nod. "Yeah. You. You know how it is. That guy wants to face Asura, he's gonna be dealin' with the most holy of swords, and that could only be Durandal. Didn't I tell ya? I'm gonna be the weapon that's there for ya for eternity."

Even though the ambiance around the two had lightened up, it seemed as though they almost entirely forgot about the other two with them. Not that either minded. They would let them continue like this for as long as they needed.

The silver-haired teen was a bit surprised at first, but he eased into the comment. Yes, he remembered the day Durandal had told him such. He really did remember. That, at least, was one memory of his past life that he never wanted to forget again.

"Yeah… You're right. Nobody could defeat Asura and Durandal, so nobody's gonna beat Ruca and Spada!"

With another nod, Spada smiled to Ruca and answered. "That's right. We're Ruca and Spada now, but we're still Asura and Durandal. That's what fate and eternity gave us, so we're just gonna have to live with it and work with it. Even if it's hard, we're gonna pull through, and we're gonna do it together. Just like we always have."

"Yeah!"

With that, the group fell into a comfortable silence. They walked quietly to the exit of the city, each of them going over their own thoughts.

Thankfully the Council members only really had authority here in Supham. If it had any elsewhere, something was wrong.

The thought suddenly occurred to Flynn that the issues between Seingald and Kimlasca may have had to do with the Council itself. The way it was neglecting its citizens and visitors… How Brute couldn't speak any further about Seingald… Even if his information had gotten mixed up, he _must_ have known _something_ if he couldn't tell them.

Flynn shook away the thoughts. He would worry about that when they reached Seingald. It was there that they would seek out every last bit of information they were looking for. Whether they would actually get all that information was indefinite right now, but it was too soon to decide what to do in that situation. They would worry about it then if they had to.

Just before the group was able to leave the city, they stopped when a girl with double-colored hair sprung up in front of them.

"Hey, hey~!"

The four gaped at the girl, none of them knowing what to say to her effervescent greeting.

"What? Did I do something wrong? I'm just saying hi!"

"But… so suddenly…" Ruca tried to form a full sentence, but he was at a loss for words.

"Hmm… Well, I actually wanted to know how to get an audience with the Council… I guess being amazing with technology isn't a good enough repute…"

"Well, you're outta luck, because the Council's way too picky." Yuri tried to continue walking, but the red and white colors of the girl's hair popped up in front of him again.

"I kind of got lost when I was going to the medical guys for the whole war that's going on. I came here to see if they'd know where it was, but they won't even let me ask _that_ much. Talk about strict!"

"Alright; who the hell are you and why do you keep pestering us?" Yuri was far from amused with the girl's display.

"Ohhh, oops. I totally forgot to tell you that. I'm the genius technician, Pascal!" She beamed widely as she introduced herself. "I keep trying to get your attention, but you're trying to ignore me, so I just keep trying~!"

"…Self-proclaimed genius technician that harasses people. Wonderful. Now if you'll gladly excuse us."

"Waaaait~! I really wanna know what's going on around here! You all just came out of Supham. That means you've been in the city with this crazy Council."

"Uhh, yeah. And?"

Pascal quieted a conspicuous amount. "…A lot of crazy things have been happening ever since the new Council members were selected. Where are you on your way to now?"

"You're not a spy for the Council or anything, are you?"

"Do I _look_ like I could spy on anybody?"

"Not really. You've got a point, there."

"Soooo~? Where are you headed?"

"…Seingald's capital, Darilshield."

"Oh…" Pascal stopped for a minute, seeming to think about something. "That's where all this weird stuff started, actually. I wanted to find out for myself, but my older sister kept insisting everyone was fine. I guess it's really not, considering you guys seem to be thinking the same way I am. That means I'm not the only one."

"I've told you, haven't I? Something _is_ going on." Everyone save for Pascal almost jumped at hearing another voice, albeit a male one this time.

"Yeah, but, that was just what went on near _your_ home. That doesn't mean there's something huge going on the world." Pascal tried to reason with the man she seemed to be traveling with.

"There was more to it than that." The man walked out from his hiding place surrounded by forest off to the side. He looked over at the group Pascal had been speaking with. "I apologize if I… startled you. I'm Veigue Lungberg."

"What were you hiding for?" Yuri raised a quizzical eyebrow at the silver-blue haired man.

"Neither of us knew who you were. For all we knew, you could have been somehow linked to the Council, be that members, a group of spies…"

"Well, I see your point. A lot better than just jumping out at the people in question." Yuri nodded in agreement.

"It's explicable that you would wait to see what the circumstances were." Flynn also agreed. "Were we somehow related to the Council, we probably wouldn't have allowed anymore visitors into this city. They've gotten quite strict, and there is already a very large accumulation of visitors here, all for the sole purpose of trying to get an audience with the Council."

"Ahhh, enough already with the _Council_!" Spada had finally had enough of the word. "We get it! They're the bad guys in all this. So the good guys are playing it safe to make sure they don't run into the bad guys. We _get_ it!"

"That would be the easiest way to put it!" Pascal grinned, nodding.

"…Why are you with her, anyway?" Yuri was surprised a man so composed could even _stand_ to be near this girl.

"We met up solely by happenstance." Veigue sighed. He didn't seem too fond of the idea himself. "We were both simply heading for the same place when we came across each other. It's rather… unfortunate, to say the least."

"Hey~! You don't have to put my company like that!" Pascal whined in discontent.

"Well… we should probably be on our way now." Flynn interrupted. "As you now know, we're heading for Seingald. We're looking directly into the matter that came up in our own audience to see what we can gather in terms of information."

"This is gonna sound totally strange and seem totally useless, buuuut… can we go with you~?"

Everyone turned to stare at Pascal. Yuri was the first to find any words to say. "Go with _us_?"

"Well, yeah! I mean, aren't we all looking into the same thing? The _bad guys_; you know? There's something weird going on and we all want answers. So why not~?"

Yuri sighed exasperatedly. "I don't really want to have to put up with you the whole time, but… I guess if Veigue's managing…"

"Barely." Veigue corrected, looking away with a rather fatigued look on his face.

"…Ouch." Pascal deadpanned.

"Er… I-I suppose it's not a problem…" Flynn hesitated with finishing the sentence. "I mean, you have a point about all of us questing for the same kind of answers. However, though similar, the answers we all seek are not exactly the same."

"But… the problems everyone's been having…" Ruca started, feeling a bit nervous when everyone turned to him. "…are all somehow related to their homes and other citizens, right? So, in the end… it might prevent people from getting hurt if we can get the answers we're looking for, or anything similar. We all want the same thing in the end! We want… to stop these guys. Because we know they're wrong! Maybe if we can get a lot of people together who want the same thing as us, we can do something about this…"

"…Ruca… You… really want us to do that? That's gonna take time, y'know. And a lotta travelin'." Spada warned him.

"Yeah, but… I think in the end, it might actually really be worth it."

"And what if we end up goin' to war with our enemies?"

"W-Well…"

"Are you really up for it?"

Ruca was silent for a whole minute before he finally got the courage to respond again. "If we have to go to war to make things better again… to restore Regnam and all those other places… if that's what we have to do, I'll do it."

"…Alright. I'm gonna trust what you say, Ruca. I never had any doubts as to what Asura ever thought. So I'm not gonna doubt you now, either."

"Thanks, Spada. If we have to fight, I'll do my best."

"Count me in, then! I'll be there right beside ya."

Yuri grinned at the two. "Well then. Since we're all excited now, let's get going."

"Huh? I thought you were against this?" Spada lifted an eyebrow at him.

"Well, I was, but… Ruca has a point. We're all going after the same thing. May as well. In the end, we'll probably end up doing this anyway, whether we realize it at the time or not." It seemed everyone in their current group was used to that feeling. It gave them an encouraging atmosphere. Their chances of success now felt higher than when they each first started out.

"Then is this plan settled?" Veigue queried, looking to each person in turn.

Everyone nodded, a variety of positive responses coming from each.

"Then… let's go."


End file.
